High School, drinking, and the beginner's guide to urban exploration

High school certainly wasn't like this when I was in school. I think it has more to do with where I grew up than anything else really. I'm still a little shock by the whole thing.

I don't really like this site because it's all that interesting. I fuckin' love the meter he uses with every posts. I may have to steal that from him one day because I'm not original. Then again, I'm not drunk often enough to make any real use of it. Either way, I do enjoy that someone is able to make use of it. It's also a nice graphic.

What else is happening? Nothing much. I could go into a good long discussion on my thoughts about rock n' roll, but this isn't the time or place. I also have a large theory about urbanization that I tell almost everyone I meet, but I haven't really sorted all the details out about that one yet. My general thesis is that people don't know instinctively how to live and enjoy urban environments. Most learn how, but if you're thrown into it, like say you go to university in a large city, you'll be totally lost. I've got a few tricks that everyone should know.

1. Look up. Too many people keep their eyes lowered when walking around in general. There's so much going on around you that to not do a simple thing like look up is too miss half the city.
2. Whenever possible walk. The only way to interact with your environment is to walk around it, get to know it on a "personal" level. Driving disconnects you from the outside.
3. Take public transit when going out for the day. Public transit systems are another way to see the city, especially if you've got a bus somewhere you've never been. You'll see more of the city than if you drove directly there. I realize that this isn't always possible because the geography of most modern cities is based around cars, but public transit takes into wierd and wonderful places. NOTE: You should figure out the proper conduct form riding the transit because different places have different social codes of conduct.
4. Go to free public events. Sometimes these things are corny, but often times you'll discover things about the surrounding area that you never knew existed. Almost all of these types of events are discussed in your local free community paper.
5. Visit the different communities. Often times these places (e.g. Chinatown, Little Italy, etc.) have the some of the best ethnic restaurants. Another trick for this one is if you're going to an ethnic restaurant and you can't read the menu it's going to be good. Pointing solves everything. Also, if there's a large of the ethnicity in the restaurant that's a good sign. I know most of this is obvious, but somtiems you've got be that way.
6. Don't wear headphones. It blocks too much out. The sounds of the city can be interesting, but it's the bits and pieces of conversations of the people passing by that can be most interesting. It's also interesting to see who stops talking when you walk by.
7. Enjoy the city with others. It can be lonely walking around the city by yourself. More eyes and ears will catch more stuff than one.

This is the beginning. I know that there's a whole movement called urban exploration, and that's cool. This is just the beginner's guide. Check out this site and this one for more information about urban exploration.